Gandersheim Abbey (german: Stift Gandersheim) is a former house of secular
canoness
Canoness is a member of a religious community of women living a simple life. Many communities observe the monastic Rule of St. Augustine. The name corresponds to the male equivalent, a canon. The origin and Rule are common to both. As with the ...
es (
Frauenstift) in the present town of
Bad Gandersheim
Bad Gandersheim (Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Ganderssen'') is a town in southern Lower Saxony, Germany, located in the district of Northeim (district), Northeim. , it had a population of 9,492.
Bad Gandersheim has many half-timbered hou ...
in
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. It was founded in 852 by Duke
Liudolf of Saxony, progenitor of the Liudolfing or
Ottonian dynasty, whose rich endowments ensured its stability and prosperity.
The "Imperial free secular foundation of Gandersheim" (''Kaiserlich freies weltliches Reichsstift Gandersheim''), as it was officially known from the 13th century to its dissolution in 1810, was a community of the unmarried daughters of the high nobility, leading a godly life but not under monastic vows, which is the meaning of the word "secular" in the title.
Church
In the
collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by ...
the original
Romanesque church building is still visible, with
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
extensions. It is a cruciform basilica with two towers on the
westwork
A westwork (german: Westwerk), forepart, avant-corps or avancorpo is the monumental, often west-facing entrance section of a Carolingian, Ottonian, or Romanesque church. The exterior consists of multiple stories between two towers. The interio ...
, consisting of a flat-roofed nave and two vaulted side-aisles. The transept has a square crossing with more or less square arms, with a square
choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...
to the east. Beneath the crossing choir is a hall-crypt. The westwork consist of two towers and a connecting two-storey block; it originally had in addition a projecting entrance hall, also on two storeys, the "paradise". The present church building, which has been subject to restoration in the 19th and 20th centuries, was begun in about 1100 and dedicated in 1168. Remains of the previous building are incorporated into the present structure.
History
Foundation
Gandersheim Abbey was a proprietary foundation by Duke
Liudolf of Saxony and his wife Oda, who during a pilgrimage to Rome in 846 obtained the permission of
Pope Sergius II
Pope Sergius II ( la, Sergius II; died 27 January 847) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from January 844 to his death in 847. Sergius II's pontificate saw the Arab raid against Rome as well as the city's redevelopment.
Rise
...
for the new establishment and also the relics of the sainted former popes
Anastasius and
Innocent
Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience.
In relation ...
, who are still the patron saints of the abbey church. The community settled first at
Brunshausen (''Brunistishusun''). The first abbess was Hathumod, a daughter of Liudolf, as were the two succeeding abbesses. In 856 construction began on the church at Gandersheim and in 881 Bishop Wigbert dedicated it to the Saints Anastasius, Innocent and John the Baptist, after which the community moved in.
Already in 877 King
Louis the Younger
Louis the Younger (830/835 – 20 January 882), sometimes Louis the Saxon or Louis III, was the second eldest of the three sons of Louis the German and Emma. He succeeded his father as the King of Saxony on 28 August 876 and his elder brother C ...
placed the abbey under the protection of the Empire, which gave it extensive independence. In 919 King
Henry I Henry I may refer to:
876–1366
* Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936)
* Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955)
* Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018)
* Henry I of France (1008–1060)
* Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...
granted it
Imperial immediacy
Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular pri ...
. The close connection to the Empire meant that the abbey was obliged to provide accommodation to the German kings on their travels, and numerous royal visits are recorded.
Middle Ages
The establishment of the abbey by the founder of the Liudolfingers gave it especial importance during the Ottonian period. Until the foundation of
Quedlinburg Abbey
Quedlinburg Abbey (german: Stift Quedlinburg or ) was a house of secular canonesses ''(Frauenstift)'' in Quedlinburg in what is now Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was founded in 936 on the initiative of Saint Mathilda, the widow of the East Frankis ...
in 936, Gandersheim was among the most important Ottonian family institutions, and its church was one of the Ottonian burial places.
The canonesses, commonly known as ''Stiftsdamen'', were allowed private property and, as they had taken no vows, were free at any time to leave the abbey. The Ottonian and
Salian
The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty (german: Salier) was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125).
After the death of the l ...
kings and their entourages often stayed in Gandersheim, and the canonesses were by no means remote from the world. Apart from the memorial Masses for the founding family, one of the main duties of the canonesses was the education of the daughters of the nobility (who were not obliged to become canonesses themselves).
One of the abbey's best-known canonesses was
Roswitha of Gandersheim
Hrotsvitha (c. 935–973) was a secular canoness who wrote drama and Christian poetry under the Ottonian dynasty. She was born in Bad Gandersheim to Saxons, Saxon nobles and entered Gandersheim Abbey as a canoness. She is considered the first fem ...
, famous as the first female poet of the German people. During a period of approximately 20 years – from about 950 to 970 or so – she wrote historical poetry, spiritual pieces and dramas, and the ''Gesta Ottonis'', expressing her veneration of
Otto I
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of He ...
. She wrote in Latin.
In the Great
Gandersheim Conflict, as it is called, originating from the turn of the 10th and 11th centuries, the
Bishop of Hildesheim
This list records the incumbents of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hildesheim (german: link=no, Bistum Hildesheim). Between 1235 and 1803 the bishops simultaneously officiating as rulers of princely rank (prince-bishop) in the Prince-Bishopric of ...
asserted claims over the abbey and its estates, which were located in an area where the boundaries between the Bishopric of Hildesheim and the
Archbishop of Mainz were unclear. The pressure from Hildesheim moved the abbey increasingly into the sphere of Mainz. The situation was only eventually resolved by a privilege of
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 ...
of 22 June 1206 freeing the abbey once and for all from all claims of Hildesheim, and granting the abbesses the title of Imperial princesses (''Reichsfürstinnen'').
With the death of the last Salian king in 1125 the importance of the abbey began to diminish and it came more and more under the influence of the local territorial rulers. The
Welf Welf is a Germanic first name that may refer to:
*Welf (father of Judith), 9th century Frankish count, father-in-law of Louis the Pious
*Welf I, d. bef. 876, count of Alpgau and Linzgau
*Welf II, Count of Swabia, died 1030, supposed descendant of W ...
s in particular attempted to gain control over the abbey, until its dissolution. The abbey was not able to establish its own territorial lordship. No later than the mid-1270s, the
Dukes of Brunswick
The Duchy of Brunswick (german: Herzogtum Braunschweig) was a historical German state. Its capital was the city of Brunswick ().
It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel by the Congress of Vienna ...
succeeded in obtaining the ''
Vogt
During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...
ei'' of the abbey and in the late 13th century built a castle in Gandersheim. Another way to gain influence over the abbey was to place relatives in the abbess's chair. This took the Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg rather longer to achieve, but they were at last successful in 1402 with the election of their first family abbess, Sophia III, Princess of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
Reformation
The
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
was first introduced into the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in 1542 when troops of the
Schmalkaldic League
The Schmalkaldic League (; ; or ) was a military alliance of Lutheran princes within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century.
Although created for religious motives soon after the start of the Reformation, its members later came to ...
occupied it. The Reformers ignored the abbey's Imperial immediacy and ordained the use of
Lutheran church services, the introduction of which however the canonesses were able to postpone on account of the absence of the prioress (''Dekanin'') who was governing the abbey on behalf of the seven-year-old abbess. The townspeople of Gandersheim had received the Reformation enthusiastically and on 13 July 1543 undertook an iconoclastic attack on the abbey church, where they destroyed images and altars.
Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...
changed his mind however and the principality changed back to
Roman Catholicism. He made good at least some of the damages, and the church was re-dedicated.
In 1568 the Reformation was again implemented under
Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Julius of Brunswick-Lüneburg (also known as Julius of Braunschweig; 29 June 1528 – 3 May 1589), a member of the House of Welf, was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruling Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from 1568 until his death. From 1584, he ...
. The abbey and its dependencies at Brunshausen and
Clus became Lutheran, and the ''Marienkloster'' and the Franciscan friaries were suppressed. A period now began of conflict between the abbess and the duke as both tried to extend their spheres of influence, a conflict which was not settled until 1593 when a treaty finally settled the points of disagreement.
Baroque
![Elisabeth Ernestine Antonie Abbess of Gandersheim by Johann Peter Harburg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Elisabeth_Ernestine_Antonie_Abbess_of_Gandersheim_by_Johann_Peter_Harburg.png)
Under the abbesses Henriette Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Elisabeth Ernestine of Saxe-Meiningen there began a new golden age of the abbey. The abbesses promoted arts and sciences. Elisabeth Ernestine Antonie had the summer castle at Brunshausen built, as well as the Baroque wing of the abbey with the Kaisers' Hall (''Kaisersaal''), and she refurbished the church.
Dissolution
In 1802, faced with imminent
secularisation
In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...
, the abbey surrendered its Imperial immediacy to the sovereignty of the Dukes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, thus ending the centuries-long struggle with the Welfs.
During the French occupation Gandersheim belonged to the
Kingdom of Westphalia
The Kingdom of Westphalia was a kingdom in Germany, with a population of 2.6 million, that existed from 1807 to 1813. It included territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the ...
. The abbess, who had fled, was permitted by
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
to return to the abbey and to live there until her death on 10 March 1810, after which there were no further elections for a successor. The abbey was dissolved and its assets were taken by the Westphalian crown, with the remaining occupants pensioned off.
Even after the end of the Kingdom of Westphalia in 1813 the Duchy of Brunswick did not restore the abbey.
Present day
The abbey is now used by the Evangelical-Lutheran parochial group of St. Anastasius and St. Innocent. During restoration works in 1997 there came to light some of the old
church treasure
A church treasure is the collection of historical art treasures belonging to a church, usually a monastery (monastery treasure), abbey, cathedral. Such "treasure" is usually held and displayed in the church's treasury or in a diocesan museum. Hist ...
: relics, textiles and reliquaries. These have been on display since March 2006.
List of abbesses
* Hathumod 852–74 (daughter of Liudolf, the founder)
* Gerberga I 874–96/7 (daughter of Liudolf, the founder)
* Christina I 896/7–919 (daughter of Liudolf, the founder)
* Liudgard I 919–23
* Hrotsuit (Rotsuita) 923–33
* Wendelgard (Windilgardis, Wildigrat) 933–49
*
Gerberga II 949–1001
*
Sophie I 1001–39
*
Adelheid I 1039–43 (daughter of
Emperor Otto II
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...
)
*
Beatrice I 1044–61 (daughter of
Emperor Henry III
Henry III (28 October 1016 – 5 October 1056), called the Black or the Pious, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 until his death in 1056. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was the eldest son of Conrad II and Gisela of Swabia.
Henry was raised by ...
)
*
Adelheid II 1061–96 (daughter of
Emperor Henry III
Henry III (28 October 1016 – 5 October 1056), called the Black or the Pious, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 until his death in 1056. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was the eldest son of Conrad II and Gisela of Swabia.
Henry was raised by ...
)
* Adelheid III 1096–1104
* Frederun (Vrederun) 1104–11
* Agnes I 1111–25
* Bertha I 1126–30
* Liutgard II 1130/31–52
* Adelheid IV, daughter of Fredrick II, Count of Sommerschenburg, and Countess
Lutgard of Stade 1152/53–84
* Adelheid V (of
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and lar ...
) 1184–96
* Mechthild I (of
Wohldenberg) 1196–1223
* Bertha II 1223–52
* Margarete I (of
Plesse) 1253–1305
* Mechthild II (of Wohldenberg) 1305–16
* Sophia II (of
Büren) 1317–31
* Jutta (Judith) (of
Schwalenberg) 1331–57
* Ermegardis (of Schwalenberg) 1357–58
* Lutgard III (of
Hammerstein
Hammerstein is a municipality on the river Rhine in the district of Neuwied in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous co ...
) 1359–1402
* Sophia III, Duchess of
Brunswick-Lüneburg 1402–12
*
Agnes II of Brunswick-Grubenhagen 1412–39
* Elisabeth of
Dorstadt
Dorstadt is a municipality in the district of Wolfenbüttel, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is part of the ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Oderwald.
Geography
Dorstadt is located in the northern foothills of the Harz mountain range. ...
1439
* Elisabeth (Ilse), Duchess of Brunswick-Grubenhagen 1439–52
* Sophia IV, Duchess of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (1452) 1467–85
* Walburg (of
Spiegelberg
Spiegelberg is a municipality in the Rems-Murr district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
History
Spiegelberg's name comes from a glassworking manufactory built in the town in 1699 that produced mirrors from 1705 to 1794.
Geography
The municipa ...
), rival abbess 1452–67
* Agnes III, Princess of
Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...
1485–04
* Gertrud, Countess of
Regenstein-Blankenburg 1504–31
* Katharina, Countess of
Hohenstein, rival abbess 1504–36
* Maria, Duchess of
Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel 1532–39
*
Clara
Clara may refer to:
Organizations
* CLARA, Latin American academic computer network organization
* Clara.Net, a European ISP
* Consolidated Land and Rail Australia, a property development consortium
People
* Clara (given name), a feminine gi ...
, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel 1539–47
* Magdalena of Chlum 1547–77
* Margareta of Chlum 1577–89
* Elisabeth, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, rival abbess 1577–82
* Margarete of
Warberg, rival abbess 1582–87
* Anna Erica (Erich), Countess of
Waldeck 1589–1611
* Dorothea Augusta, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel 1611–26
* Catharina Elisabeth,
Countess of Oldenburg
The County of Oldenburg was a county of the Holy Roman Empire.
In 1448 Christian I of Denmark (of the House of Oldenburg), Count of Oldenburg became King of Denmark, and later King of Norway and King of Sweden. One of his grandsons, Adolf, D ...
1626–49
* Maria Sabina, Countess of
Solms
Geography
Location
Solms lies right in the Lahn valley at the mouth of the eponymous little river Solmsbach and is nestled between the foothills of both the Taunus and Westerwald at heights from 140 to 400 m above sea level. It is about 7& ...
1650–65
* Dorothea Hedwig, Princess of
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...
1665–78
* Christine Sophie, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel 1678–81
* Christina II, Duchess of
Mecklenburg-Schwerin 1681–93
*
Henriette Christine, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel 1693–1712
*
Marie Elisabeth, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 1712–13
* Elisabeth Ernestine Antonie, Duchess of
Saxe-Meiningen
Saxe-Meiningen (; german: Sachsen-Meiningen ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin dynasty, located in the southwest of the present-day German state of Thuringia.
Established in 1681, by partition of the Ernest ...
1713–66
*
Therese Natalie, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel 1767–78
*
Augusta Dorothea, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel 1778–1810
[Martin Hoernes/Hedwig Röckelein (eds.): ''Gandersheim und Essen. Vergleichende Untersuchungen zu sächsischen Frauenstiften'' (Essener Forschungen zum Frauenstift, Band 4), Essen 2006]
Burials
*
Agnes of Brunswick-Grubenhagen
*
Sophia I, Abbess of Gandersheim
Sophia I (September 975 – 30 January 1039), a member of the royal Ottonian dynasty, was Abbess of Gandersheim from 1002, and from 1011 also Abbess of Essen. The daughter of Emperor Otto II and his consort Theophanu, she was an important kingma ...
*
Liudolf, Duke of Saxony
Notes
References
* Goetting, Hans, 1973: ''Das reichsunmittelbare Kanonissenstift Gandersheim''. In Max-Planck-Institut für Geschichte (ed.): ''Germania sacra: historisch-statistische Beschreibung der Kirche des Alten Reiches''. Berlin/New York: de Gruyter.
* Hoernes, Martin, and Röckelein, Hedwig (eds.), 2006: ''Gandersheim und Essen. Vergleichende Untersuchungen zu sächsischen Frauenstiften''. In: ''Essener Forschungen zum Frauenstift'' (vol. 4). Essen: Klartext Verlag.
* ''Portal zur Geschichte: Schätze neu entdecken! Auswahlkatalog'' (ed. Martin Hoernes and Thomas Labusiak). Delmenhorst 2007
* Wäß, Helga, 2006: ''Form und Wahrnehmung mitteldeutscher Gedächtnisskulptur im 14. Jahrhundert. Katalog ausgewählter Objekte vom Hohen Mittelalter bis zum Anfang des 15. Jahrhunderts'' (vol. 2, pp. 222 f). Bristol/Berlin: Tenea.
* Friedrich, Ernst Andreas, 1989: ''Wenn Steine reden könnten.'' Hanover: Landbuch-Verlag.
External links
*
Gandersheim Abbey church: permanent exhibition
Bad Gandersheim official website
{{Authority control
Monasteries in Lower Saxony
Imperial abbeys
Lutheran women's religious houses
Gandersheim
Christian monasteries established in the 9th century
Lutheran churches converted from Roman Catholicism
Buildings and structures in Northeim (district)
1802 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire
Establishments in East Francia
10th-century establishments in Germany
9th-century churches in Germany
Religious buildings and structures completed in 852